JAMS614: MASS MEDIA AND PUBLIC OPINION (SPRING 2016)
COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course has three goals. The first is to prepare students to be informed and critical
consumers of polls and media coverage of them. The second is to introduce students to basic
theories and findings regarding the influence of mass media on public opinion. The third is to
provide students with firsthand experience in conducting and writing about public opinion
research.
We will begin by exploring the most common method for studying public opinion: polling. We
will discuss how to (and how not to) design and conduct polls, as well as how to find and
interpret poll results. We will also discuss the ways in which politicians and journalists use (and
misuse) polls and consider the results of some recent public opinion polls. The first part of the
course will conclude with a look at studies of media effects on public opinion.
The second part of the course will revolve around a class research project. Each student will be
responsible for conducting and writing about part of this project. Along the way, we will discuss
how the research process works and how to write a research paper.
REQUIRED READINGS
The following books are required and will be available at the UWM Bookstore:
 Asher, H. (2010). Polling and the public: What every citizen should know (8th ed.).
Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press.
 Iyengar, S., & Kinder, D. R. (2010). News that matters: Television and American opinion
(Updated ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Additional required readings will be available on D2L. Read all assignments in advance so that
we can discuss them in class. Keep in mind that there will be test questions about the readings.